Alcatraz

Alcatraz is an island located in San Francisco Bay, 1.25 miles offshore from San Francisco, California. It was named "Island of the Pelicans" in Spanish, and Military Governor of California John C. Fremont purchased the island for $5,000 from Francis Temple in 1846. In 1853, the US Army Corps of Engineers began fortifying the island, and work continued until 1858. During the American Civil War, San Francisco's military arsenal was moved to the island to prevent it from falling into the hands of Confederate sympathizers, and Confederate sympathizers and privateers were also imprisoned on the island. In 1867, a brick jailhouse was built, and it officially became a prison a year later, interning Hopi Native Americans, Confederates caught on the West Coast, and World War I conscientious objectors. From 1934 to 1963, it served as a federal prison, notably housing prisoners such as Al Capone. For 19 months starting in November 1969, the island was occupied by native rights activists, and it became a national recreation area in 1972 and a National Historic Landmark in 1986.